On Monday, South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix overtook Samsung Electronics in terms of market capitalisation for the first time, becoming the country’s most valuable publicly listed company.
As of 6.47 am, Hynix’s market capitalisation had risen by 5.7 per cent to 2 quadrillion 82.5 trillion South Korean won ($1.35 trillion), compared with Samsung’s 2 quadrillion 81.3 trillion won (excluding preference shares), according to Reuters. As recently as early May, Hynix’s market value was below 1 quadrillion won.
Hynix has also become the world’s most valuable developer of memory chips, which are currently in short supply. Another member of the global ‘big three’ in this sector – the US-based Micron – is valued at $1.28 trillion.
As a more niche player compared to Samsung, Hynix dominates the market for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in AI systems by Nvidia, Google and other companies. In 2025, Hynix’s share of this market stood at 61 per cent, compared with 17 per cent for Samsung and 21 per cent for Micron.
Earlier this month, Reuters reported, citing sources, that Hynix could list in the US as early as August.
The company’s shares on the Seoul Stock Exchange closed 5.6 per cent higher on Monday.
Hynix was founded in 1983 as a division of Hyundai. In 2002, amid debt problems, it was nearly sold to Micron, but ultimately remained under the control of its creditors for around ten years before becoming part of the SK Group.